My parents moved from a once little-known city called Akron to the Bay Area decades ago, and that played a large role in dictating what sports teams I've rooted over the course of my life. As I'm sure friends and acquaintances of mine know (the same people that cover ~75% of our audience), I've grown fond of Cleveland sports because of that very fact, which in turn, led me to become a fan of NBA legend LeBron James. I've followed his career closely and realized some really weird trends in his popularity. His popularity isn't exactly at its peak right now and a lot of that is in large part to stigmas that get attached to the athlete. What I want to understand is: "why?". Why is it that this guy is hated so much? Why is it that no matter what he does, his moves will be scrutinized? Why is it that all his achievements and milestones are undermined? Because honestly, most of the arguments that are put out there are kind of... stupid. Sounds harsh, but let me explain:
Stigma #1:
He left Cleveland to join other All-Stars in free agency. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and all the greats never did that!
Of all the reasons mentioned here, this is probably the worst one. Something that most people seem to have forgotten: free agency in the NBA did not start until 1988, and even then, most teams had lifetime contracts over their players. The only way for the individuals to move teams was through a trade. Now, what team in the right mind would trade any of the greats mentioned above?
Additionally, these players already shared the court with other Hall-of-Famers! If given the chance, do you really think Michael Jordan could find another team that would pair him up with better players than Scottie Pippen or Dennis Rodman? How about Magic Johnson getting better teammates than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy? Or Larry Bird with the tandem of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale?
Back in the day, the NBA's lack of player freedom and big market control really created for some major disparities in potential for team building, something that I'll probably rant about in the future. So the idea to compare LeBron to other past greats in this regard is like comparing apples to oranges.
Going back to LeBron's specific scenario of making a "super team"...
A friend once told me that we should applaud the fact that great players all joined one team. Initially I was taken back by this comment because I was still upset over LeBron's departure and every outlet and fan seemed to share the same sentiments, but my friend brought up a really good point. Everyone would harp on the idea that athletes are selfish prima donas instead of carrying a "team-first" attitude like they should be. But when a few really talented players sacrificed money, statistical gains, and individual recognition in order to give a team the best chance to win, we respond by complaining about what they did. I'm not sure about how I feel about this, but it's something that I thought was noteworthy enough to include in this article.
Stigma #2:
The Decision
LeBron handled his departure of Cleveland in the worst way imaginable. The entire city felt embarrassed and he came off of as an egocentric maniac. But there was one positive that people often overlook. "The Decision" did manage to raise $2.5 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs, a foundation LeBron has been supportive of for several years.
LeBron handled his departure of Cleveland in the worst way imaginable. The entire city felt embarrassed and he came off of as an egocentric maniac. But there was one positive that people often overlook. "The Decision" did manage to raise $2.5 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs, a foundation LeBron has been supportive of for several years.
Stigma #3:
LeBron is 2-4 in the Finals.
I did a rant on how winning doesn't indicate the amount of talent an individual possesses, so I'd rather that you click that link than have to repeat myself for this point. It's also imperative that you look past the surface level of this record too. LeBron somehow carried the 2007 Cavaliers to the Finals, despite being underdogs against the Pistons thanks to his Game 5 performance-something that is widely regarded as the best individual playoff game ever. A brief examination of the roster is more than enough to tell you that that Cavaliers team had absolutely no business being in those Finals. So should we really knock him for overachieving and reaching that stage in the first place? He lost in his following Finals appearance too, and did have a supbar performance (for his standards at least) as many people like to point to. But if we consider someone averaging 18, 7, and 7 bad, then that just speaks volumes to how incredible the athlete LeBron is. Additionally, James never surrendered a point to his match-up in the fourth quarter through the first four games of that series. It wasn't until Jason Terry hit a deep three with the shot clock winding down did that streak end. The next three finals and playoff runs that LeBron took part in were absolutely incredible. Never again will we see someone guard the opposing team's best player, regardless of position, and then be the leading facilitator and scorer for his team on the other end. NEVER. Each year it became more and more apparent that the Miami Heat were relying on him to carry their team. In the final year of his Miami tenure, Lebron single-handedly carried the Heat to the Finals and was the only player on that team who played adequately for that team.
But because he lost that series, people like to blame him and say he was shut down by MVP Kawhi Leonard. Let me break something to those that share that way of thinking: averaging 28, 8, 4, and 2 while shooting an impeccable 57/52/79 is anything but getting "shut down". And just last year, he showcased the best Finals performance of all-time by averaging 36, 13, and 9 against the league's best defense with virtually no offensive help from his teammates. His highest scoring mate was Timofey Mozgov and that's only because over 50% of his points came off of assists from LeBron!
Stigma #4:
LeBron isn't clutch
Just the notion of a "clutch gene" existing is silly. If you're good for 95% of the game, you will be good for the last 5%.
Anyways, I don't really want to delve into this too much because there are a lot of obvious stats that disprove this sentiment like
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LeBron gets help from the referees.
Superstar calls have existed since the league first started. This is not a secret. So yes, LeBron probably gets away with more things than the average NBA player, but so does every other elite athlete. Reputation has always played a factor in a referee's mind, and chances are that it always will. I'm not saying it's right or justfied, but this is an unfixable issue that is way out of LeBron's control. It's not his fault the whistle goes his way. Interesting tidbit that has to do with this topic at hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPmiQpkBBiM
Admittedly, I've never watched the video in its entirety, but I've been told good things about BBALLBREAKDOWN.
Stigma #6:
Major sporting shows keep forcing LeBron down my throat.
This actually irks me a lot. Even as a Warriors and Cavaliers fan (try saying that without sounding like a bandwagon), it annoys me to no end to see every little segment dedicated to either Stephen Curry or LeBron James. Other sports, teams, and athletes deserve attention. Let me see coverage about them too! But we have to understand that these networks are a business and that they have to push whatever content will give them the most attention. LeBron is a popular figure (not the same as well-liked) and people turn their attention to posts, articles, commentary, and the such that are related to him. Does it get annoying after awhile? Absolutely! But again, LeBron has no control over what these networks want to publish. While I don't like mass media for that reason, I completely get where they are coming from.
Stigma #7:
LeBron is arrogant.
LeBron does and says a lot of things that rub people the wrong way. One time he danced while sitting on the sideline during a blowout victory against the Chicago Bulls (ironically now people love it when their favorite players dance while playing), a year or two later he stated he was taking "his talents to South Beach" (something everyone says when they declare for a professional sporting league's draft), that he went to Miami to win "Not one... not two..." (this pissed me off the first time I saw it, but there shouldn't be anything wrong with him stating that his goal was to make a dynasty), and even proclaimed himself to be the best player in the NBA (which was definitely true at the time and something all sorts of NBA players say). Yet despite all that, it still doesn't even come close to matching the level of arrogance other beloved NBA stars have shown (Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant). It doesn't make sense for this to be an issue for one athlete, but no one else.
Take this however you wish to, but it's been cited by countless sports writers and athletes that LeBron James is a really likable and humble human being. How you wish to value or judge a person's character is up to you, but it doesn't make sense for this to be an issue for only one athlete. At least stop the double standard.
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